Foreign Affairs Minister Listens to the Boating Industry

Boats

 

June 28, 2018

This week Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Chrystia Freeland, spoke to the House of Commons Committee on International Trade to provide Members of Parliament an update on the latest information regarding the escalating trade war between Canada and the U.S. The Minister was asked to comment on the schedule 2 of listed items and said, “I have heard from people in the boating sector and that is feedback that we are taking very seriously, I’ve heard the concerns of the boating industry.”

While this is no guarantee that boats will be removed from the tariff list, we are pleased to see that the Government of Canada is listening to our concerns. Our efforts to date, including strong letters to the Prime Minister, Ministers and dozens of MP’s, have been heard and are having a positive impact as we continue to work towards protecting the Boating industry.

The global trade war has intensified in the past two weeks, and the recreational boating industry has been placed in the crosshairs. As a result, the industry is experiencing rising manufacturing costs, retaliatory tariffs, and order cancelations.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association Canada (NMMA), which represents the recreational boating industry, wrote a two-page letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It asked that the federal government remove four tariffs that target recreational boats from its proposed scope of retaliatory tariffs against the United States.

These tariffs “will cause irreparable and disastrous damage to the industry, from which it would likely never recover,” wrote association president Sara Anghel.

The four tariffs of 10 per cent the National Marine Manufacturers Association Canada wants lifted include:

• Inflatable boats
• Sailboats, with or without auxiliary motor
• Motorboats, other than outboard motorboats
• Outboard motorboats, other vessels for pleasure or sport

If you care about the boating industry in Canada, the time to act is now. Write to your local MP and please take some time to do now and have your voice heard. Boating BC and their national partners will continue to address the issue with government and emphasize the impact it will have on our industry.

 

Related Articles

Video Gallery

Bennington 22 MSB

By Andy Adams

If you’ve already had firsthand experience with a pontoon, you will easily understand the appeal of the Bennington 22 MSB. But if you haven’t, let’s start by reviewing a few of the reasons why pontoon boats have become top sellers in markets across North America.

Pontoon boats began in the early 1950s as basically four steel drums lashed to a frame. They were not unlike the log rafts of ancient cultures and not much more sophisticated at first.

Read More

Destinations

The Best of Two Worlds

By Mathew Channer

Interior British Columbia might not be as famous for recreational boating as Canada’s Great Lakes, yet it is no less a world-class boat­ing destination. The mountains offer their own flavour of marine adventure with their series of long, deep ribbon lakes, and there is perhaps no area that embodies this more uniquely than the iconic Okanagan basin in southern B.C. One could be forgiven for assuming this valley was purpose-built for nautical fun, with a few delightful perks thrown in to make the area entirely irresistible (wine-tasting, anyone?).

Read More

Lifestyle